Get Rhythm

We are created for rhythm. Our body functions on rhythm; our heartbeat is a rhythm. Our breathing is a rhythm. Our sleep pattern is a rhythm. If we want to have rhythm in our relationships, the first thing that we have to understand is that we are created for rhythm.

In 2013, 23.0% (6.6 million) of Canadians aged 15 and older reported that most days were ‘quite a bit’ or ‘extremely stressful’. Stress carries several negative health consequences, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, as well as immune and circulatory complication. We’ve also heard that the number one reason people go to the doctor is depression. And the way out of depression is to get rhythm, to get yourself in sync with God and in sync with other people.

A few points to understand rhythm:

1. We’re designed to live in rhythm: the world puts a lot of emphasis on balance. Balance out your life with your recreational time and your family time, and balance out your diet. A better word we should be looking for is the word “rhythm”. Balance is static. You have it just for a little while and then it’s gone, whereas rhythm is a flow.

Rhythm comes from a Latin word which means to flow. We have a flow in our lives. We were meant to enjoy life. Our Lord said: “I came to give you life and life more abundantly.” There’s an abundant life that comes when we get into a rhythm of life by knowing the seasons and the relationships we have in our lives. 

Usually, people who live in the countryside get a better understanding of it because they live more by the seasons. They know the harvest time; they know the resting of the soil; they know the seed time, and they get into the flow of it. As urbanites, we’re just kind of busy all the time. We’re always going, and there are times when we just need to step back and say, “Wait a minute, I need to get into a rhythm in my life.” To enjoy life we need to understand and harmonize our lives with God’s created rhythms.

2. Our relationship with God is fundamental in having harmony with others: we’ve got to get in rhythm with God first.We read in Romans 15:5 “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other – each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other.” In other words, when we get encouragement and patience from the Lord, we can be in harmony with others. If we are out of sync with God, we’ll find ourselves out of sync with other people.

One of the best things we can do to get in sync with God is:

• Having a rhythm to our prayer life: is there a rhythm in the morning? How do you start your day? Is there a time in the middle of the day where you get away?
• Having a regular time to go to bed: it doesn’t seem that significant, but our bodies get in a rhythm and it’s healthier because of it. God created the week and He rested on the seventh day, not because He was tired, not because He worked really hard for six days creating and needed to take a break, but because God desired to give us an example of rhythm.